The Laziest Excuse for Bad Cities

Quick Overview

The laziest excuse for opposing good urbanism, such as bike lanes or car-free streets, is the weather, which holds minimal correlation with successful urban design; factors like infrastructure quality, mixed-use zoning, and safety are far more significant determinants of project success, as demonstrated by successful pedestrianization in cold Copenhagen and the failure of a sunny Fresno mall due to poor surrounding context.

Key Points: The author identifies weather as the "laziest excuse for bad cities," arguing that successful urban improvements like bike lanes or car-free streets depend on factors "way more important than the weather." Copenhagen's Strøget, a famous car-free street pedestrianized in 1962 despite cold, dark, and rainy weather, became a massive success, proving weather is not a barrier to good design. The Fulton Street Mall in Fresno, California, failed and eventually reintroduced cars despite having predominantly warm and sunny weather because it lacked surrounding walkability and was surrounded by car infrastructure, illustrating that context trumps climate. Cities with high cycling rates like Montreal and Minneapolis have snowy winters, and the Netherlands, despite frequent wind and rain, maintains high cycling because infrastructure prioritizes speed, safety, and convenience. The author notes that poor infrastructure, not climate, dictates behavior; for example, the author avoids cycling in Toronto's poor infrastructure during rain but cycles safely in Amsterdam's protected lanes under identical weather. Canadians often exaggerate cold by citing wind chill temperatures, which are less relevant than air temperature when properly dressed, leading to inaccurate claims that cold weather prevents cycling where infrastructure is lacking. In hot climates, urban design elements like extensive shade from trees (which can lower sidewalk temperatures from 48° to 30° in the sun) and excellent public transit make travel tolerable, unlike car-centric sprawl which exacerbates the urban heat island effect.